Israelâs Debate is not About Reform Conversion: Itâs About Orthodox Conversion
Shmuel Rosneris an Israeli columnist, editor, and researcher. He is a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times and is the political editor of the Jewish Journal.
The swearing in ceremony of Chief Justice Miriam Naor (Image courtesy of the Spokesperson unit of the President of Israel under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Israelâs High Court ruling on Reform Conversion, which caused a stir last week, was practically written and signed five years ago, at the end of March 2016. The 2016 ruling, written by the Chief Justice Miriam Naor, who retired long ago, was about Martina Ragacova, a Czech citizen who came to Israel as a tourist and stayed when her visa expired. While staying illegally, she converted to Judaism. Not through Reform authorities, but instead through Rabbi Karelitzâs Haredi Orthodox Court in Bnei Brak.